Title page for ETD etd-06022011-171502

Musical Allusion to 'The Rite of Spring' in Four Contemporary Works for Solo Bassoon

Degree

Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.)

Department

Music

Advisory Committee

Advisor Name

Title

Beavers, Gabriel

Committee Chair

Campbell, Griffin

Committee Member

Kemler, Katherine

Committee Member

McFarland, Alison

Committee Member

Ortner, Frederick

Dean's Representative

Keywords

le sacre

borrowed music

unaccompanied bassoon

Date of Defense

2011-05-08

Availability

unrestricted

Abstract

The bassoon solo that begins The Rite of Spring has had a profound and lasting influence on the treatment of the bassoon as a melodic instrument, both in the context of the orchestra and as a solo instrument. It has been alluded to and directly quoted in many works over the past century, and has become associated with the modern concept of the bassoon as a solo instrument. Four works for solo bassoon by contemporary composers—Canto XII by Samuel Adler, Metamorphoses by Leslie Bassett, Paisagem sonora no. 5 by Rodrigo Lima, and From Rite to Rite by Claudia and Maíra Cimbleris—all adapt the bassoon solo from the introduction to The Rite of Spring. Although the passages in these four works that contain musical allusion to The Rite of Spring vary widely in content and character, they demonstrate certain similarities in the treatment of material borrowed from the bassoon solo and other parts of the ballet. These similarities suggest a common way of thinking about Stravinsky’s bassoon solo, and its continued use by contemporary composers suggests its long lasting impact on modern bassoon writing.